Firestorm: One Nerd's History

Inspired by my recent (well they were recent when I started writing this) posts of the various Firestorm action figures I own I had initially planned on a post showcasing the various costumes Firestorm has sported over the years. That led to me re-reading some Firestorm comics and the result was an expansion of the scope of this post. Now I plan chronicle not only the aesthetic changes the Nuclear Man has undergone but also my personal trek into Firestorm fandom. This will not be a detailed history as others have already covered that ground online.



I believe I was in high school by the time I first really encountered Firestorm. At some point in my youth I'd received the Super Powers Action Figure but didn't know anything much about the character beyond that. It was in a used bookstore I bought my first Firestorm comic, which I believe was the first Fury of Firestorm Annual. Again I'd purchased the end of a storyline and was now curious to find the beginning.  My local comic shop had a bagged set of Fury of Firestorm #1-22 or so. I forget exactly. What I have a clearer memory of is taking that set of comics along with me on a trip to a Model UN conference in Winnipeg. My team was representing Mali and I stole many spare moments to read the adventures of Ronnie and Professor Stein. So that was my introduction. I think my interest in Firestorm led me to use my newfound internet access to learn about all his previous appearances and thus I got my hands on the original 1978 series and that led me to his backup stories in the pages of the Flash which got me more keen on the Flash and likely led to my discovery of Dr. Fate in the same back pages though again I recognized the character from an old action figure. At some point around this time I gave my Super Powers Dr. Fate the cape from Robin the Boy Wonder. It was a little short but still worked. I digress though.

My keen interest in science was fostered by the admittedly shaky science of Firestorm and I slowly amassed a collection of all 104 issues (including annuals) of "The Fury of Firestorm" making it the first long running series completed in my collection.

Firestorm has undergone a plethora of changes since his creation back in the late Seventies. The core components of Firestorm to my mind are that he is made up of the fusion of two individuals, has flaming hair, and his transmutational abilities. His original outfit was designed by Al Milgrom who was doing his best Kirby channeling. Firestorm would not look out of place among the denizens of New Genesis. The pointy shoulders, puffy sleeves, and the vaguely "atomic" symbol. I can dig it.

The Original by Al Milgrom

Al Milgrom's cover to Firestorm #1 (1978)

Pat Broderick's cover to Fury of Firestorm #1 (1982)

Various artists who followed changed very little. The flame hair got a little longer and when the Russian Pozhar (Mikhail Arkadin) joined the mix Firestorm got a little ganglier.

Art from Firestorm Annual #5 by Joe Brozowski

The big departure visually came when Firestorm became the Fire Elemental. Very simplified suit with a weird belly-orb, but a much bigger fire mane and flames at his wrists and ankles. Also this Firestorm doesn't wear shoes.

Tom Grindberg's cover to Firestorm #85

Tom Mandrake's cover to Firestorm #92

After the end of his solo series Professor Stein was the Fire Elemental and had gone out into space. Ronnie Raymond eventually gained the ability to become Firestorm on his own and wore his original duds. But it was the 90's so he had to be more extreme.. oh the 90's.

Cover to Extreme Justice #5 by Marc Campos

In 2004 Jason Rusch inherited the Firestorm Matrix after Ronnie Raymond was stabbed by Deathstroke. This was a novel approach to Firestorm and I followed this series as it came out.
Jason's first costume is basically a streamlined Ronnie Raymond but with crazy glowing face lines and a pointier headpiece. Gone are the shoulder pads and puffy sleeves which makes sense with the aesthetics of the time. When I went back to Jason's early issues for this post I was surprised to see just how similar his initial look was to the original. Here's the cover and last page of Firestorm #1 by Chriscross.

Second Costume - after Jason encountered a remnant of Ronnie within the Firestorm Matrix his costume regained the shoulder pads and his glow lines remain though just framing the face.

Art from Firestorm #14 by Jamal Igle

Jason got a third costume Post Infinite Crisis/One Year Later. It's a bulkier look with a heavier tunic and thicker gloves and boots. Here we get the glowing chest symbol, the headpiece flattens out, the puffy sleeves return and his gloves get glow lines. This follows the trend of removing the "over-the-pants-underpants" from superhero costumes with a similar waistline to Hal Jordan's modern costume.

Art from Firestorm #23 by Jamal Igle

Ronnie/Jason - Brightest Day Costume: Ronnie Raymond was resurrected at the end of the "Blackest Night" event which lead to the "Brightest Day" series that followed some of my favourite characters: Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, Hawkman & Hawkgirl, and of course Firestorm. It's a nice balance between Ronnie's old look and Jason's more modern design. The cuffs and boots still have that Kirby-esque flair and his tunic gets new waistline.

The Brightest Day Firestorm figure from DC Direct

Ok, the New 52... *sigh* This is when I kind of fell away from comics. It happened to coincide with my move to China where American comics were not really a thing so it was kind of a blessing in disguise. Ethan Van Sciver and Gail Simone revamped Firestorm and took him in a very different direction. Ronnie and Jason could turn into Firestorm separately and needed distinctive costumes. In this new continuity Professor Stein has created a series of "Firestorm Protocols" each of which allowed someone to transform into a nuclear powered being.

Ronnie Solo: Ronnie's costume is mostly red, quite different from previous looks. He has yellow bits on his wrists and boots and keeps some of the yellow piping and the glowing atom symbol introduced in Jason's look.

Fury of Firestorm: the Nuclear Men #1 by Yildiray Cinar

Jason Solo: Jason's costume in predominantly yellow and his chest symbol is similar to the classic costume but with the big and little circles flipped left to right. Otherwise his costume is pretty much the same as Ronnie's but colour swapped.

Fury of Firestorm: the Nuclear Men #1 by Yildiray Cinar

Fury: The combined form of Jason and Ronnie was the berserker Fury who looks kind of like classic Firestorm merged with the villain Brimstone.

Fury of Firestorm: the Nuclear Men #1 by Yildiray Cinar

Eventually DC wanted to get back to a status quo more familiar to readers and so Jason and Ronnie fused once more to form a singular Nuclear Man. This design owes a lot to the Brightest Day costume but still harkens back to the original. There may have been some slight differences between this costume and the end of the New 52 Firestorm series but honestly they aren't enough for me to bother mentioning.

DC Icons Firestorm Figure

Firestorm is still one of my favourite characters even though his presence has been a little light in the current comics but he has found a new audience on TV in Legends of Tomorrow. Well this post has gone on long enough. It took me longer to pull together than I anticipated so it might be a while before I get around to the follow up post about the other Nuclear-Powered heroes and villains in the DCU.